Dairy firm signs agreement with French food giant

China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd and French food giant Groupe Danone SA signed an agreement on Aug 9 to establish a joint venture, according to a statement by the Chinese dairy producer on Monday.

The joint venture will see the companies acquire, invest and manage chilled yoghurt products in China.

Danone owns a 20 percent stake in the joint venture and China Mengniu owns 80 percent.

The companies previously said the joint venture will use Danone's advantage in quality control and product innovation while fully leveraging Mengniu's distribution networks in China's yoghurt market.

The French yoghurt maker will assign two senior executives to the joint venture's board of directors, while Mengniu will assign the rest four.